Collapsible infant berth



Dec. 30, 1947. H; P. ZIMMERMANN COLLAPSIBLE INFANT BERTH Filed March 16, 1946 INVENTOR. HERBERT PAUL ZIMMERMANN ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 30, 1947 2,433,504 CQLLABSIBLE INFANT BERTH Herbert EPaul Zimmermann, Amityville, N. Y., assignor to Pennsylvania Railroad,'1hiladelphia,

Pa., corporation of Pennsyiiiania" Application March 16, 1946, fierial No. 654,866

4 Claims.

My present invention relates to a collapsible 'Heretoforefwhen small children and infants have been'carried on railroad coaches, it has been customary for the passenger to' carry the child in' a bassinet or traveling basket and to place the same across two coach seats which'were turned so that they faced'theadjacent pair of coach seats. The mother or other attendant then occupied'one of the adjacent pair of coach seats facing the child, so that mother and child actually occupied four coach eats, thus'diminishing the carrying capacity of the coach.

This has been'the case not only in connection With'trav'el of small infants in'b'assinets, but also in connection with travel of children up'to' about the age of four or thereabouts, where; in the ab sence of a bassinet or basket, the person accompanying the child has wrapped the child in blankets or clothing and permitted the child to sleep across two' of the seats whilesitting'op'po site the child. g

This has become a particular problem especially in view of extensive increase in travel of families and'particularly of mothers and their children occasioned by various war and post-war condi tion's'which are well known. In fact, the problem has grown to such'an extent that'in many long distance trains, several'sets of'four seats in each of the coaches 'haveeach been used by a single mother and child. r Apart from the fact that this reduction in available coach seats'has inconvenienced other passengers, the coach seats themselves were not designed for the purpose of forming cradles 'or cribs for children and the bassinet or bundle of clothing and blankets used for bedding has scarcely furnished a comfortable berth for the child. object of my present invention, therefore, is primarily to furnish acQmfOrt'able berth for an infant or small child in a railroad coach.

Another object of my "invention is the provision of a collapsible berth or crib particularly a'd'aptedfor use inconnection with a railroad coach seat. A further object of my invention is the provision of a collapsible infant berth adaptedfor use in connection with one of a pair of railroad coach seats, so that the otherseat of the pair is' avail able for occupancy by the childs attendant.

Still anotherobject of my invention is the'provision and arrangement of a simplified collapsible crib or berth.

The foregoing and many other objects of my in vention'will become apparent in the following description and drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of my novel collapsible infant berth with the hood removed showing the same mounted on one of a pair of coach seats.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of my novel collapsi: ble infant berth with the hood removed showing the manner in which the same may readily be collapsed.

Figure 3 is a side view of my novel collapsible infant berth with the hood removed.

Figure 4 is a view partly in cross-section taken from line 4-4 of Figure 3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view in perspective.

cross-section such as a tubular section or a chan nel, L-shaped 'or other angular form.

The forward ends l3, M of the longitudinal members II and [2 respectively are connected by a spreader l5 comprising the links l6, l7 pivo'tally connected together at the pin l8. The end of link I 6 opposite the pin i8 is pivotally connected at [9 to the end [3 of longitudinal member II. The end of link I! opposite the pin I8 is pivotally connected at 20 to the end M of the longitudinal member I2. 1

The links l6 and H are rotatable at the pin l8 and are respectively rotatable at the pins 19 and 20 so that the longitudinal members II and I2 maybe'brought close to each other as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 2 in order to collapse the crib or berth.

When the longitudinal members H and I2 are pulled apart to their widest dimension, the spreader [5 comprising the links 16 and H is straightened.

The spreader I5 is provided with a slidable tubular locking sleeve 25, which sleeve is slidable over the links I! and [6 but is a. closed frictional fit over the joined ends of the links l6 and I! at the pin l8.

When the spreader I5 is straightened as shown by the solid lines of Figures ,1 and 2, the sleeve 25 is slid over the pivot l8 andthus'prevents collapse of the spreader l5 away from the solid line position to the dotted line position of Figure 2.

The forward ends I3 and 1-4 of the longitudinal members II and I2 may thereby be separated to be spaced from each other by a distance predetermined by the length of the expanded and locked spreader l5."

The rear ends 30'and 3| of longitudinal members Hand 12 respectively are provided with the straps 32 and 33. The straps as shown'in Figure 1 are buckled around the arm rests 35 on opposite sides of the coach seat 36; these arms 35 include the center arm and the arm adjacent the window of the railroad coach; By this means; therefore, the rear ends of the longitudinal members i I and "I 2 are appropriately spaced and at the same time, the-infant's berth is securely but removably attaohed to the seat. The berth is held in expanded position at the front-end by-t-he spreader as previously pointed out and'at the rear end by the straps 32 and 33' at the arm rests;

A flexible base 40 made of appropriate matei'ialQasfor' instance, a suitable fabric, leather, plastic sheeting, or other suitable material, is connected between the longitudinal members II and i2 forming a bottom for the infants berth ln when the same is expanded and secured to the coach seat. l a I Leg rests 42 and 43 are secured respectively to the longitudinal members [2 and H. These leg rests, as shown more particularly in Figure l, are so'designated that they will rest on the forward or raised portion 45 of the seat 36 andare of a predetermined height so that they'will cooperate with the straps 32'and 33 to maintain the infant berth level. Theleg rests 42 and 43 asshown are secured to their respective longitudinal members in any suitable manner, as for instance, by the bolts 46.

The leg rests 42 and 43are preferably angular members having a flange 41 resting on the forward portion 45 of the seat 36. The legs 42, may, if desired, as shown in Figure 6, each be hinged at the hinge 56 and the connection between the flange 4i and each leg 42 may also be a hinged connection 5 i, so that the leg rests 42 and 43 may be folded up when the infant crib is folded up.

In order, however, to maintain the longitudinal members II and 12 substantially parallel to each other during collapse and in order to avoid undue strain on the pivots l9 and when the infant crib is collapsed, the legs .42 and 43 and the flanges 41 may be made rigid at the hinges and the opposite flanges 4'! may be interconnected by links 53, 54 respectively, pivotally secured at 55 and 56 at their outer ends to the opposite flanges 41. The links 53 and 54 may be connected where they meet by the pin 53. The links 53 and 54 may collapse as shown by the dotted line in Figure 2 in the same manner as do the links l6 and I1;

Also, if desired, although this is not essential, a sleeve similar to the sleeve 25 may be mounted on the link 54 or 53 to maintain the linear alignment of links 53 and 54 when the infant berth is expanded in the same manner as the sleeve 25 operates in connection with links [6 and H.

a The longitudinal members II and I2 may be provided with holes 60, 6| in the upper surface thereof; holes 60, 6| to serve as a support for the folding hood 63 which may be secured therein in the manner hereinafter described.

The hood 63 may have the form of the collapsing hood usually associated with baby carriages and comprises essentially a front U-shaped rib 65, a rear U-shaped rib 66, and a central ll-shaped rib 61, all rotatably mounted on the bolt 69 at each side of the hood.

The bolt 69 (as shown in Figure 5) passes through a securing spring washer 16 and the wing nut H which tightens the ribs of the hood in any angularposition. Thebolt69 also passes through boss '12 carrying the'pin 13 on each side of the hood. Pins 73 are received in opposite openings 6] and 65 in members It and i2 to removably support the hood on the infant berth. The ini tial dimension of the hood is slightly wider than the distance between openings 60 and GI. The hood is squeezed laterally to enable pins 13 to enter openings 66 and 6! where they are frictionally held against accidental removal but may readily be removed when desired. 6

Since the ribs 65, 6'! and 66 are flexible, the hood pins 73 may readily be mounted-in and removed from the openings 66 and 61." The hood is held in stretched position as shown in a well known manner as by the toggle 15 and may be collapsed by breaking the toggle I5 upward to a collapsed position so that the hood becomes substantially flat.

A rubber foam mattress 86hr a mattress of any other suitable material may be mounted in the infant berth and supported by the bottom 46 when the infant berth is expanded.

The infant berth is stored in collapsed condition in a small packagewith the longitudinal members H and I2 and the links 16 and H and 53 and 54 collapsed together as shown in the dotted line position ofFigure 2.

The construction is such that the longitudinal members II and [2 maybe brought up against each other, The mattress is also folded up into a roll around the longitudinal members II and I2 and the hood 63 is collapsed and bound up with the infant crib arrangement of Figure 2.

Should it be desired to collapse the hood to an even smaller volume, the upper or horizontal portions of the U-shaped ribs 65, 66 and 61 may be each formed of a pair of links similar to the links 16-41 or 5354 pivotally connected to the leg portions of the U-shaped ribs. This will permit even smaller collapse of theehood 63.

The length of the longitudinal members H and I2 is such that the infant berth extends from the front surface 82 of the back of the reclining seat when the reclining seat is pushed back up to the back surface of the reclining seat ahead with the back of the said forward reclining seat pushed back. Thus, the operation of the seat ahead is not interfered with. Preferably also, the infant crib is installed on the outside seat of the pair of seats, furthest from the aisle, so that the childs attendant may have free acess to his or her own seat adjacent the infant berth.

In placing the infant berth in position, the mattress, hood and berth elements are separated.

The longitudinal members H and I 2 are pulled apart to the solid line position of Figure 2 straightening the links iii-47 and 535 l. The sleeve 25 is slid over the pivot E8 to maintain the links l6i'l linearly rigid. The straps 32 and 33 are secured over the opposite arms 35 of the seat with the back 82 of the seat tilted back as shown and with the rear ends 39 and 3! of the longitudinal members ii and i2 pushed against the back 82. The legs 42 rest on the front portion 45 of the seat and the infant berth is ready to receive the mattress and the hood.

The mattress 8B is placed in the berth and any other suitable bedding is placed thereon if desired. The hood 63 is expanded and mounted in the openings 60 and iii. The entire operation requires but a minute or two and the infant berth is ready for use.

When it is desired to remove the infant berth, it is only necessary to open the straps 32 and 33, remove the belts and carry the berth away. The infant berth need not be collapsed before removal, but may be collapsed by the porter in another portion of the coach.

By this means, therefore, a simplified and readily usable infant berth is provided which ma be easily expanded by the unskilled user to its full position and installed by a few easily performed operations requiring no technical knowledge or ability.

A comfortable and easily installed removable berth is thus provided for an infant permitting the infant to ride while'asleep in a preferred direction, with his body parallel to the path of movement of the coach, A pair of coach seats thus serves comfortably to accommodate both the infant and his attendant, thus obviating the previous practice wherein the sleeping infant and his attendant actually occupied four seats.

In the foregoing, I have described my invention solely in connection with a specific preferred embodiment thereof. Since many variations and modifications of my invention should now be obvious to those skilled in the art, I prefer to be bound not by the specific disclosure herein contained but only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A collapsible infant berth comprising a pair of longitudinal members; a flexible base secured between said longitudinal members; a collapsible connection between the longitudinal members at one end of the infant berth for maintaining said longitudinal members in spaced relation at that end to stretch said base; and additional means for spacing the opposite ends of the longitudinal members and for securing said opposite ends of the longitudinal members to the opposite arm rests of a railroad coach seat; said last mentioned means comprising a strap individual to each of the said opposite ends of the longitudinal members.

2. A collapsible infant berth comprising a pair of longitudinal members; a flexible base secured between said longitudinal members; a collapsible connection between the longitudinal members at one end of the infant berth for maintaining said longitudinal members in spaced relation at that end to stretch said base; and additional means for spacing the opposite ends of the longitudinal members and for securing said opposite ends of the longitudinal members to the opposite arm rests of a railroad coach seat; said last mentioned means comprising a strap individual to each of the said opposite ends of the longitudinal members; and an additional support connected to each of the longitudinal members and adapted to rest on substantially the front portion of the said railroad coach seat.

3. A collapsible infant berth comprising a pair of longitudinal members; a flexible base secured between said longitudinal members; a collapsible connection between the longitudinal members at one end of the infant berth for maintaining said longitudinal members in spaced relation at that end to stretch said base; and additional means for spacing the opposite ends of the longitudinal members and for securing said opposite ends of the longitudinal members to the opposite arm rests of a railroad coach seat; said last mentioned means comprising a strap individual to each of the said opposite ends of the longitudinal members; and an additional support connected to each of the longitudinal members and adapted to rest on substantially the front portion of the said railroad coach seat; said infant berth when secured in position extending from the front of surface of the back of the seat to which it is secured to the back surface of the seat directly ahead.

4. A collapsible infant berth comprising a pair of longitudinal members; a flexible base secured between said longitudinal members; a collapsible connection between the longitudinal members at one end of the infant berth for maintaining said longitudinal members in spaced relation at that end to stretch said base; and additional means for spacing the opposite ends of the longitudinal members and for securing said opposite ends of the longitudinal members to the opposite arm rests of a railroad coach seat; said last mentioned means comprising a strap individual to each of the said opposite ends of the longitudinal members; and an additional support connected to each of the longitudinal members and adapted to rest on substantially the front portion of the said railroad coach seat; and a collapsible hood removably supported between the longitudinal members.

HERBERT PAUL ZIMMERMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 259,487 Church June 13, 1882 972,732 Temple Oct. 11, 1910 1,247,161 Silverman Nov. 20, 1917 1,366,405 MacGowan Jan. 25, 1921 

